Cymbal manufacturers
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Cymbal manufacturers refer to companies and/or individuals who primarily manufacture and/or ship cymbals, bells,
gong A gongFrom Indonesian and ms, gong; jv, ꦒꦺꦴꦁ ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ja, , dora; km, គង ; th, ฆ้อง ; vi, cồng chiêng; as, কাঁহ is a percussion instrument originating in East Asia and Southeast Asia. Gongs ...
s, or any other metallic percussion item of that type, be it B8 or B20, mass-produced or boutique,
ride Ride may refer to: People * MC Ride, a member of Death Grips * Sally Ride (1951–2012), American astronaut * William Ride (19262011), Australian zoologist Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Ride'' (1998 film), a 1998 comedy by Millicen ...
,
crash Crash or CRASH may refer to: Common meanings * Collision, an impact between two or more objects * Crash (computing), a condition where a program ceases to respond * Cardiac arrest, a medical condition in which the heart stops beating * Couch su ...
, splash, or hi-hat, for use by
percussionist A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...
s, drummers, and other musicians.


"The Big Four": Major cymbal manufacturers

In the modern world, there are four primary cymbal manufacturers that together encompass over half of all cymbal sales. *
Zildjian :''Zildjian leads here. For people with the surname, see Zildjian (disambiguation)'' The Avedis Zildjian Company, simply known as Zildjian (), is a musical instrument manufacturer specializing in cymbals and other percussion instruments. Founded ...
*
Meinl Percussion Meinl Percussion is a manufacturer of percussion instruments based in Gutenstetten, Germany. The company’s cymbal production is one of the "big four" manufacturers of cymbals, along with Zildjian, Sabian, and Paiste. In addition to cymbal ...
*
Paiste Paiste (English pronunciation: , ) is a Swiss musical instrument manufacturing company. It is the world's third largest manufacturer of cymbals, gongs, and metal percussion. is an Estonian word that means "shine". Apart from cymbals and gong ...
* Sabian


Other cymbal manufacturers

Aside from the four major contenders in the cymbal world, there are many more companies, especially in Turkey, where some have common roots in the old Istanbul based Zildjian factory. Many of today's cymbal manufacturers have established themselves through unique manufacturing techniques, unusual sound qualities, competitive pricing, place or style of manufacturing, or cymbal material. Other notable cymbal companies are: * Anatolian Cymbals * Agean Cymbals *
Crescent A crescent shape (, ) is a symbol or emblem used to represent the lunar phase in the first quarter (the "sickle moon"), or by extension a symbol representing the Moon itself. In Hinduism, Lord Shiva is often shown wearing a crescent moon on his ...
* Cymbal & Gong * Hammerax *
Istanbul Agop Istanbul Agop Cymbals is a cymbal producer based in Turkey. Its products are well respected for their unique sound, which is formed by the method and the alloy used, the formula of which is known only to the owners of the business entity, firm, Ar ...
* Stagg *
Soultone Cymbals Soultone Cymbals, commonly known as Soultone, is a cymbal manufacturing company based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 2003 by Iki Levy, after struggling to address frustrations with the major cymbal manufacturers over quality iss ...
* UFIP Other minor brands and individual cymbal makers make their own cymbals or rework existing cymbals.


Notable past cymbal manufacturers/smiths


Bellotti Cymbals

Bellotti was a small Italian cymbal workshop that produced cymbals from the 1950s until the 1970s. Because so few of these vintage cymbals exist on the market today (they are much less prevalent that some other vintage Italian contemporaries, such as
Zanchi Zanchi may refer to; People *Antonio Zanchi, Italian baroque painter *Girolamo Zanchi, Protestant theologian *Manuela Zanchi, Italian Olympic water polo player *Marco Zanchi, Italian footballer Products Zanchi (cymbals), an Italian brand of pe ...
), Bellotti remains one of the more obscure names in cymbal manufacturers. Most Bellottis are relatively small 12"-15", and quite heavy. Their craftsmanship displays a fine lathing on top and bottom and very broad, circular-peen hand-hammering. The cast bronze cymbals are of a
B20 alloy Cymbals are made from four main alloys, all of them copper-based. These are: bell bronze, malleable bronze, brass, and nickel silver. Bell bronze Bell bronze, also known as ''bell metal'', is the traditional alloy used for fine cymbals, many gon ...
. The bellholes of most Bellottis are of small aperture, which suggests a fabrication date prior to the 1960s. Very finely crafted, most existing examples are likely to have been hand or
field cymbal Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...
s, due both to their weight and diameters. The tell-tale insignia is an embossed stamp on the underside of the cymbal. There are two versions of this stamp. The first simply reads "Bellotti" on capital block letters. The second version also reads "Bellotti," but also incorporates the
logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a wo ...
of a bell. Often, Bellottis have embossing that reads "Italy" or "Made in Italy" in a semicircular pattern. This embossing appears on other Italian cymbals of the 1940s-1960s.


Roberto Spizzichino

Roberto Spizzichino (1944–2011) was an
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
drummer and renowned master cymbalsmith. Spizzichino lathed and hand-hammered cymbals in his workshop in San Quirico,
Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...
in the tradition of the K Zildjian cymbal makers from Istanbul. Early in his career, Spizzichino worked for the Italian cymbal company UFIP, providing cymbal development and research. In 1986, after leaving UFIP, Spizzichino started experimenting with his own "Spizz" brand cymbals. Spizzichino also worked for Bespeco, an Italian musical equipment manufacturer. Bespeco still offers a line of machine-made B8 Spizz brand cymbals produced according to a process developed by Spizzichino. The Chinese cymbal manufacturer, Wuhan, also produced a limited number of its own Spizz brand cymbals during a brief collaboration in 1989 when Spizzichino visited the factory. He was in China to find a source for B20 blanks. Spizzichino was involved in the
Wuhan Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei Province in the People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the ninth-most populous Chinese city an ...
/Spizz cymbals' design but was not involved with the cymbal production and distribution. He was not satisfied with the product and did not wish to be associated with it. Neither the Bespeco Spizz or the Wuhan/Spizz cymbals were endorsed by Spizzichino. Recent Spizzichino brand cymbals are crafted from high quality B20 bell bronze discs sourced from
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
. The first Spizzichinos were made from inexpensive, heavy B20 blanks imported from China. By heating, hand-hammering and lathing the material, Spizzichino sought to bring out desirable sound characteristics often lacking in machine-made modern cymbals. Spizzichino became unsatisfied with the purity of the Chinese material after a couple years, and found a different supplier. Roberto Spizzichino's cymbals are coveted by jazz drummers seeking the 'old K sound' and are considered rare and collectable, as he made fewer than 3,500 cymbals during his career. Spizzichino died on November 22, 2011.


Zyn, Super Zyn & 5 Star Super Zyn

Zyn cymbals were introduced by
Premier Percussion Premier Music International Limited is an English musical instruments manufacturing company based in Kibworth. The company, founded in 1922, currently produces drum kits, sticks and accessories. History Premier was established in 1922 when ...
in 1948. They were marketed as affordable instruments with a priority of functionality over musical quality. They were made of nickel-silver alloy and could be purchased with Premier's Olympic-series drum kits. Pairs of concert cymbals were available for marching bands and orchestra. The professional-grade ''Super Zyn'' range followed in 1951, realised in
B20 alloy Cymbals are made from four main alloys, all of them copper-based. These are: bell bronze, malleable bronze, brass, and nickel silver. Bell bronze Bell bronze, also known as ''bell metal'', is the traditional alloy used for fine cymbals, many gon ...
. According to ''Cymbals Today'' (a contemporary promotional material published by Premier), these instruments were endorsed by a number of professional jazz drummers, such as
Ray Ellington Henry Pitts Brown (17 March 1916 – 27 February 1985), known professionally as Ray Ellington, was an English singer, drummer and bandleader. He is best known for his appearances on ''The Goon Show'' from 1951 to 1960. The Ray Ellington Quartet h ...
and Eric Delaney. Sizes were 12 inches through 24 inches, in ''thin'', ''medium-thin'', ''medium'' or ''heavy'' weights. Concert cymbals were available in 14, 15 and 16 inch pairs. The ''5 Star Super Zyn'' range was announced in 1968, replacing the Super Zyn as Premier's professional-grade cymbal. Like their predecessors, these cymbals were also made of B20 alloy. However, their build was thicker and heavier - similar to the heavy-weight Super Zyns - reflecting contemporary trends in popular music, where denser cymbals were required to meet the increasing volume of amplified instruments in popular music. The range began with a 12-inch cymbal, while hi-hats could be specified in 13, 14 or 15 inch pairs. 16, 18, 20 and 22 inch cymbals were all available as a ride, crash, or crash-ride. ''Sizzle'' cymbals (factory-fitted with rivets), could be ordered in 18 and 20 inch sizes. Concert cymbals were available in 14, 15 and 16 inch pairs. There was also a budget alternative to the 5 Star Super Zyn, called the ''2 Star Super Zyn''. The naming system was a reference to the contemporary octane rating system for leaded petrol in the UK. Premier also marketed a ''Zyn 70''. Production of all Zyn types concluded in 1984, replaced by Premier's then-expanding distribution and promotion of
Zildjian :''Zildjian leads here. For people with the surname, see Zildjian (disambiguation)'' The Avedis Zildjian Company, simply known as Zildjian (), is a musical instrument manufacturer specializing in cymbals and other percussion instruments. Founded ...
cymbals. However, the name has since been revived on two occasions, first in the late 1990s with a German-made Zyn. All previous Zyn cymbals featured stamped logos but the ''Made in Germany'' Zyn title was stencilled in capital letters. The range consisted of just four cymbal types: pairs of 14 inch hi-hats, 20 inch ''Medium Ride'', plus 16 and 18 inch ''Crash'' cymbals. Unlike previous Zyns, there were no concert cymbals or ''Super Zyn'' variants marketed on this occasion. The second and final reintroduction was announced by Premier in 2006: the new ''Zyn'' was machine-hammered B20 alloy, while the new ''Super Zyn'' was combination hand- and machine-hammered B20 alloy. Both types were made in China and can be identified by their stencilled nametag (distinct from the stencilling of the German-made Zyn range). As with past Zyns, pairs of concert cymbals were also available. Unfortunately, the revival was commercially unsuccessful and the cymbals were only produced for a short period of time.


See also

* List of drum manufacturers * List of timpani manufacturers


References

{{Companies by industry Lists of manufacturers